Firearm.



PATENTED DEC. 25, 1906.

1. G. JOHNSON.

FIREARM. APPLICATION IILED MAY 7. 1906.

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UNITED STAWENT OFFICE.

THOMAS C. JOHNSON, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS (10., OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTI- OUT, A CORPORATiON.

FIREARM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed May '7, 1906. Serial No. 315,576.

Patented Dec. 25, 1906.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS C. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Firearms; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the figures of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-

Figure 1, a broken view, partly in righthand side elevation and partly in vertical section, of a gun constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2, a detached view,

in side elevation, of the balanced breechblock Fig. 3, a view thereof in front elevation; Fig. 4, a detached view, in side elevation, of the cover; Fig. 5, a view thereof in front elevation.

My invention relates to an improvement in balanced breech-block firearms, the object being to produce a simple and durable gun in which the shock of recoil is taken by the barrel itself at a point in front of its rear end in line with its longitudinal axis by a head bearin directly upon it and carried by the forwardly-projecting extension of the block. a

With these ends in view my invention consists in a firearm having certain details of construction, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claim.

In carrying out my invention, as herein shown, the balanced breech-block 2 is provided with a long flattened bar-like forward extension 3, inclosed within and passing through a deep downwardly-opening slot 4, formed in the lower portion of the front end of the gun-frame or receiver 5, the said slot being so deep as to entirely receive the said extension within it. The said extension 3 has at its forward end an integral arch-like bearin head or housing 6, bearing directly upon t e gun-barrel 7 ,which it incloses. The rear end of this head forms a recoil-shoulder 8, which impinges upon a steel washer 9, encircling the barrel and placed against a washer-like buffer 10, also encircling the barrel, made of vulcanized fiber or other equivalent material and itself placed against a recoil-shoulder 11, formed by the forward end of a recoil-taking enlargement 12, integral with the rear end of the barrel, concentric therewith and larger than the same. A threaded stem 13, projecting from the rear end of the said enlargement 12, provides for securing the barrel to the frame 5.

The breech-block 2 is returned into its closed position by a breech-block-closing spring 14, encircling the barrel, engaging at its rear end with the washer 9 aforesaid, extending forward into a chamber 15 in the rear end of the head 6 and impinging at its forward end against a shoulder 16 at the forward end of the said chamber. For inclosing the rear portion of the barrel and the bearing-head and their related parts I employ a cover 17, having its rear end formed with internal threads 18 for being screwed upon external threads '19 at the rear end of the recoil-taking enlargement 12. The lower face of the forward portion of the cover is cut away to form a long clearance-opening 20 for the reception of the bearing-head 6, which moves back and forth in this opening. At its extreme forward end the cover is supported by afore-arm tip 21, located at the forward end of the fore-arm 22, the said tip and fore-arm being pf any approved construction and arrangement. described requires the mounting of the bar rel in the gun-frame so that its top will be in line or about in line with the top thereof.

When the n is fired, the breech-block 2 is blown baci as it were, until the recoilshoulder 8 of the bearing-head 6 impinges upon the washer 9, placed against the buffer 10. During this rearward movement the spring 14 will be compressed. As soon as the recoil has spent itself the said spring returns the breech-block to its closed osition. It is to be particularly noted that t e shock The construction of recoil is taken by the gun-barrel itself ICO mounted; upon-,thegharrel inposition to coact With the said surface, a sprlng encirclingthe barrel; a; breech block having a forward extension located under-the'barrel and carrying an integral upwardly-turned head or housing embracing the barrel and bearing directly thereupon and coacting With the said buffer to take the recoil, a fore-arm connected'at its rear end with the gun-frame or receiver, a fore-arm tip supported by the barrel and connected at its forward end with the I ing Witnesses.

THOMAS C. JOHNSON. Witnesses:

DANIEL H. VEADER, HERBERT F. BEEBE. 

